The LTA has today announced that the 2024 Lexus British Open Roehampton for the best wheelchair players in the world, will take place at the Wimbledon Qualifying and Community Sports Centre in Roehampton alongside the prestigious ITF J300 junior event (the main warm-up to The Championships), on 30 June – 5 July.  The Lexus British Open, which has usually taken place in August at the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre, moves to a new week in the calendar to provide enhanced grass-court preparations ahead of The Championships at Wimbledon, improve the strength of international player fields and avoid clashing with the Paris Paralympic Games.

The Lexus British Open will be one of a number of grass-court wheelchair tennis events played in the lead up to Wimbledon, with the Rothesay International at Eastbourne once again featuring an ITF wheelchair tournament, this year with a men’s women’s and quad division. The LTA has also today confirmed that a high- level disability tennis exhibition event will be held at the Queen’s Club over the final weekend of the cinch Championships, featuring international wheelchair players as well as Britain’s leading learning disability players.

Alfie Hewett, world no.1 said: “It’s great to have a full swing of grass-court events in the calendar this summer – it’s perfect preparation for the players before Wimbledon and a brilliant opportunity to showcase the sport during the iconic British grass-court season. I can’t wait to be out there playing in front of the home crowds, the support will be amazing for all the British players as we take on the very best wheelchair tennis players in the world.”

Tickets for all events are now on sale on the LTA website.

cinch Championships Qualifying & cinch Championships Fan Day

Tickets are also now on sale for the cinch Championships qualifying weekend which will be fully open to the public on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 June. Sunday 16 June will be a special ‘Fan Day’ in aid of the LTA Tennis Foundation. Ticket holders will be able to enjoy exhibition matches with top players, open practice sessions and the chance to watch players compete in qualifying for a place in the main draw.

Tickets will start from £5 (for under 16s) to £40 with all proceeds going to the Foundation, which aims to improve lives through tennis.  The LTA will make a quarter of tickets on Sunday available to local school and other charity groups at the special price of £15 for adults and £5 for children.

LTA Performance Competitions Calendar

Finally, the LTA has also today published the next five months of the LTA Performance Competitions Calendar.  This confirms the ITF World Tennis Tour, Junior and ITF Wheelchair events being hosted in Britain until the end of September, designed to provide British players with international level playing opportunities and the chance to earn ranking points and prize money on home soil.  There are now 32 professional ranking events for men and women (across ITF/ATP/WTA levels) staged in Britain this year from January through to September, with 14 international junior events for both boys and girls and seven international tournaments in the wheelchair category.

Highlights for the period July – September include a swing of 5 men’s ITF WTT M25 and 4 women’s W35 events back-to-back in Nottingham, the NTC and Aldershot. For Juniors there will be three J30 events at Bradfield and Loughborough as well as a Tennis Europe Cat 2 event at Aldershot for 14U and 12U boys and girls and the Lexus National Junior Championships for the same age groups in August.

With thanks to the LTA

Team Bath Tennis men’s and women’s student 1st teams (Photo: Matchtight)

A unanimous choice by the judging panel, the award recognises the outstanding contribution of Team Bath coaches, players and support staff to promoting and supporting the sport during 2019.

As well as a thriving student set-up and all-encompassing tennis offer in inspirational facilities at the Team Bath Sports Training Village, Team Bath Tennis was praised for its huge outreach programme, its innovative tennis and education programmes and sharing best practice with partners.

Local and Regional Performance Development Centres (LPDC and RPDC) were also set up at Team Bath during 2019, helping to nurture and guide the talent of young players within the local community and across the South West.

And an unforgettable year was capped by the successful staging of the first Fed Cup women’s team tennis tie in Great Britain for 30 years, an event attended by thousands of spectators which included a vast array of community activities and engagement.

Barry Scollo, Head of Tennis at Team Bath, said: “It is phenomenal to win this award. We are incredibly proud of the work we do here and it is so pleasing to see effort from the whole team receive such recognition.

“More than 500 students play competitively in the Blue & Gold every week and many more enjoy the sport recreationally on our indoor and outdoor courts.

“We have also continued to strengthen our relationship with other educational providers, such as Ralph Allen School and Prior Park College in Bath, and have run schemes such as the popular Tennis 4 Girls programme which has encouraged more people to get involved in the sport.

“The introduction of the LPDC and RPDC at Team Bath during the past 18 months also means we have a performance pathway in place from the age of six right through to professional and university tennis.

“Successfully hosting the Fed Cup and showcasing what we offer to an international audience was the icing on the cake but it is the inspirational day-to-day work of our Team Bath coaches, players and support staff that really sticks out for me. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

The LTA Tennis Awards celebrate the achievements made by outstanding tennis volunteers, coaches, officials, venues and players in Britain. This year’s ceremony was streamed online and hosted by Leon Smith, who captained GB to Davis Cup success in 2016. The University of the Year Award was presented by Australian Open quarter-finalist Jonny O’Mara, himself a product of the LTA University programme.

Visit www.teambath.com/tennis to find out more about the all-encompassing tennis programme at the Team Bath Sports Training Village.

Courtesy of the Team Bath Press Office at Matchtight

Taking place from 12th – 19th October in Antalya, Turkey, the Championships will see players from 18 countries battling it out across singles, doubles and mixed doubles events in a bid to win medals on behalf of their nation.

Sanctioned by the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD), the first Deaf Tennis Championships took place in Nottingham in 2015. Designed to enhance the existing calendar of major international deaf tennis events, which includes regional championships in Europe, AsiaPacific and the PanAmericas, as well as the Dresse and Maere Cups, the event serves to increase the number of elite competitive opportunities for deaf players across the world.

Accompanied by Head Coach Catherine Fletcher and supporting coach Andrew Graham, the following players have been selected to represent Great Britain at this year’s event:

•           Lewis Fletcher – 34, Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire
•           Esah Hayat – 17, Finchley, London
•           Phoebe Suthers – 16, Elland, Yorkshire
•           Valerie Copenhagen – 36, Ruislip, Middlesex

Speaking about his selection, 17-year old Hayat – who won gold in the Boys’ singles at the last World Deaf Championships in 2015, commented: “I’m a lot more confident that I can play at the level of all the other top senior players this year. The last World Championships were really good, but this time I will have the experience from Nottingham to draw on and I will be even more prepared. Lewis and I are a much better doubles pair than I could have ever expected and I believe we can beat anyone. We will be going for gold in Turkey. We played really well last year at the Dresse Cup and we’ve been able to practise even more this year, too.”

Echoing Hayat’s enthusiasm, 16-year old Suthers, who won bronze at the last Championships in 2015 added: “I’m very much looking forward to this year’s World Championships and I think it will be another amazing experience. Hopefully I will be able to bring a medal home for GB again, but it will be tough. It’s been a roller-coaster journey since the 2015 Worlds. There have been many ups and downs, but I’ve managed to bring myself up and fight the downs to get in the secure position that I’m in now. I’ve learnt that tennis is about dedication and never giving up.”

Fletcher – who also competed at the World Championships in 2015 and partnered Hayat to win the silver medal for Great Britain at the 2018 Dresse Cup, commented: “I am very pleased with my recent performances at the National Championships alongside my partners Esah and Phoebe. I really believe if we play the way we are we have high hopes of medals in Turkey. Esah and I set the benchmark last year at the Dresse Cup World Team Championships, winning the silver medal, so I see no reason why we can’t continue that success and go one better at the Worlds.”

Copenhagen – who contested her first major international event at the World Championships in 2015 added: “I can’t believe it has been four years since my first ever international tournament. I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am, both on and off court. It is such a special opportunity to represent GB again and I’m really looking forward to it. I want to do the best I can with the draw I have and leave everything on court. I can’t wait to play with Phoebe in the doubles – our practices have gone really well and she is so lovely to play alongside.

Commenting ahead of the team’s departure, the LTA’s National Deaf Tennis Coach Catherine Fletcher, who has also represented Great Britain in numerous major international events said:  “After the success we enjoyed in Nottingham four years ago I’m really excited to head out to Turkey with our four-strong team for the second ever World Deaf Tennis Championships. The team have all gained valuable international experience over the past few years and we’ve had significant medal success at recent championships. We have a great blend of youth and experience and I hope we will return home successful.”

For most information visit the LTA website here.

For updates and results throughout the Championships, head to the LTA’s Deaf Tennis Facebook page  or keep up to date via the Championship’s official website.

Courtesy of the LTA